Serenity Wellness nurse practitioners provide medication management. Medication management means that the patient sees a separate therapist for psychotherapy and has visits with their prescriber specific to medication management for psychiatric medication. Initial visits are one hour or two hours depending on age and complexity of case. Follow-up visits are booked for thirty minutes.
During medication changes or initiations; visits may be more frequent. Once an individual is stable on a certain medication regimen visits can sometimes be spaced out three to six months at a time. Medication changes are not made over the telephone or via e-mail at our practice.
Common psychiatric illnesses that we have experience providing medication management for include but are not limited to Depression, Anxiety, symptoms of PTSD, ADHD, post-partum and peri-natal illnesses, pre and peri-menopausal illnesses, gender dysphoria, Dysthymia, and Autism.
****** Our practice does not prescribe standing/daily doses of Xanax (Alprazolam) and/or Adderall (Dextroamphetamine). We also generally do not prescribe standing daily doses of benzodiazepines such as Clonazepam and Lorazepam for long term use. We adhere to strict prescribing policies for benzodiazepines and psycho-stimulants which include but are not limited to the following: No early fills, urine toxicology screens upon initiation and at any time after initiation, no refills after a no call/no show appointment, and no concurrent prescribing of benzodiazepines and stimulants. No concurrent prescribing of controlled substances with cannabis use.******
If you are seeking services and you call or e-mail- please include the following:
- Name (full legal name and preferred name)
- Date of birth
- Health Insurance Plan
- Current medications you are prescribed
- Current therapist
- Cell phone number
This information will help us identify which provider will be best suited to see you.
Frequently Asked Questions and Concerns:
“I think I’m gaining weight from my medication”: Many patients are concerned rightfully about gaining weight from psychiatric medication. Many medications do cause appetite increases and/or water weight gain and/or difficulty losing weight. There are many other factors that may contribute to weight gain or loss including hormones (OCP, infertility treatments, etc.), aging, alcohol use, cannabis use, and chronic stress and fatigue. To help you and your provider hone in on the issue a food diary tracking two weeks of food and drink intake may be recommended.
“I’m having sexual side effects”: Many patients experience sexual side effects with psychiatric medications. These can include lower sex drive and inability to orgasm or difficulty orgasming. There are strategies to mitigate this which can be discussed with your provider. Ultimately you may have to change medications.
“I’m still depressed and I’ve been taking the meds for four months.”: Upon further analysis we often find patients are improved but perhaps only 40-60% better from where they were but still do not feel back to their baseline. We all wish psychiatric medication would alleviate 100% of symptoms but the reality is they often only alleviated 40-80% of symptoms. The rest of the work is done in therapy and with self care practices. Multiple replicated studies show psychiatric medication in conjunction with therapy allows for the highest remission in symptoms (often around 85-90% remission). Medication alone and psychotherapy alone both often see 40-60% remission. This is why we strongly encourage all our clients to be engaged in individual therapy in addition to medication management.